Gaara Rewritten
by TheScottishAlpaca
Summary: What if Gaara had a friend as a child? What if he was accepted and loved, even if only by a precious few? How strong would he be? How ruthless, how unforgiving, what control would he have over his demon? (I do not claim to own the Naruto franchise in any way)
1. Chapter 1

Kokoro

* * *

6 years before…

* * *

When Gaara approached with the ball, the others froze. We all knew who he was.

A demon. A monster.

Immediately, you could see the hurt on his face.

"Thank you, Gaara!"

Gaaras face might have been the least shocked. I looked at my big brother carefully.

Daichi was smiling at him. Perhaps he was showing off, showing how daring he was, trying to impress that Hana girl. But his smile seemed genuine enough. The demon-boys face went from shock to confusion.

"Would you like to join us?"

"Daichi, we don't want him to play."

"Don't you know what he is?"

"He'll kill each and every one of us!"

"Fine then. You go play by yourselves. Kokoro and I will play with Gaara, seeing as it is my ball."

I struggle unsuccessfully to conceal my horror.

Did Daichi not listen at all?

"Thank you" Gaara replied, as the others walked away, muttering. I heard the harsh words they used against my brother, and swelled up with rage. Silently, I move to my brother's side. He places a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't mention it, I mean, you saved my ball!" He chuckles. "This is Kokoro."

Gaara looks at me.

"Hello" I say. A Lady must always be polite, no matter who she is speaking to.

He nods at me.

"My, you two must be the same age! Are you in the same class?"

"Gaara doesn't go to school" I say, my voice as calm as I can force it to be.

"My father teaches me ninjitsu" Gaara says. He keeps looking me and my brother up and down. Especially my brother.

"Well, I guess that if you're being taught by the Kazekage, you wouldn't need to go to the school anyway!" My brother laughs, putting a hand behind his head.

I do not like this, but I do not like to be away from Daichi.

"Kokoro?" My brother says impatiently.

"Hmm?"

"I was just saying that you have your own little defence system too, like Gaaras sand."

"Gaaras… sand?" I say questioningly. I look at Gaara, and he grins shyly, whilst a wall of sand rises up in front of him. "Wow!" I say. "Uhm, I guess, but mine isn't as cool." I say. I concentrate hard. I remember what my brother said about controlling my chakra. It's so so difficult…

"Mushoku no tate!" I say, in a tone not unlike a stage whisper, and my chakra forms invisible armour around my body.

"Try and hit her." My brother says.

Gaara uncertainly throws a kunai knife at my knees. It bounces off with more force than it was thrown with.

My armour disappears suddenly and I fall down.

"She cannot properly maintain her cha-"

My brother stops talking and watches as sand gently picks me up and places me on my feet.

"Well. Are we going to play or not?"

* * *

Present Day

* * *

"Daichi! Daichi, guess what day it is!"

"You leave for the Chunin exams today, don't you?"

"Yes! Oh wow, I cannot wait!"

"That reminds me, Father wants to speak to you."

My mouth hangs open in shock, and I cease jumping on my brother's bed to rush back to my room. I change quickly into my best kimono – not something I can often wear, in this heat.

"Kokoro, please, be seated."

I sit down on a cushion and watch my father carefully. He smiles at me.

"I am aware that today is the day you depart for the Chunin exam."

"Yes, father."

"Are you excited?"

"Yes, father, although I will not let that get the better of me."

"Good. You are a clever girl, Kokoro. Maybe you'll pass first time around, unlike that brother of yours."

"Daichi was attacked by a member of his own squad… he could never have seen it coming…"

"Don't defend him, Kokoro!" My father snaps. "That was a disgrace to the family name, his failure. If we'd thought it to be acceptable, he would still be heir!"

I flinch away.

"However. We ask you this – you must try your best to pass. If both of my children were to disgrace the family name…" He trails off ominously.

* * *

The breakfast with my father lingers in my mind long after we depart from the Academy.

"Kokoro?" Gaaras deep voice comes from behind me.

"What is it, Gaara?"

"You seem distracted."

"My father says I cannot fail."

"My father says I shouldn't let it take over."

"You win."

"I always do."


	2. Chapter 2

Gaara

* * *

"Hey punk, get down here. You're the kind of pesky little snot I hate the most, all attitude and nothing to back it up."

"What? You're gonna use the crow for this?"

"Kankuro, back off. You're an embarrassment to our village. Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?" I say quietly.

"Uh, I know, I-I-I- mean, they challenged us! They started the whole thing really. See, here's what happened-"

"Shut up." I say. There's a giggle from behind me. I almost smile. "I'm sorry for any trouble he caused." I say, looking at the kid Kankuro had threatened. Hmm. He managed to stop Kankuro with a pebble…

"Yeah, he made us Sand Village folks look like a bunch of morons. I'm Kokoro, by the way." She says, revealing herself behind me. The kids on the ground look confused. She nudges me.

"I am Gaara, of the Desert." I say bluntly, still looking the black-haired kid up and down. If he proves to be a bother…

"I'm Temari, this idiot is Kankuro. There are two others, one from our squad, one from theirs." She gestures to Kokoro and I, "But they aren't here. We came for the Chunin exams."

"Well, I'm Naruto Uzumak-"

"Who are you?" I ask the black haired kid.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He says. Kokoro rolls her eyes. She never liked clans who were better known that her own. She was secretly pleased when she heard the news about the Uchiha massacre.

"Hmm." I say. "Well, we've wasted enough time here. Lets go."

Kankuro and Temari immediately start to walk away, but Kokoro holds back a little. I turn around to wait for her, murmuring to my siblings to go ahead. Eventually she turns back, and walks with us.

That is what I like about Kokoro. She does not fear me. She must have, once, but thanks to her brother it only took a few months to befriend her. She was my first true friend.

I will always protect her with my life.

* * *

Using the third eye, I easily copied Kokoros answers. She's something of a genius, I must say.

I glare at my siblings. They have not yet written an answer.

We cannot complete our mission if they do not pass this…

* * *

Kokoro

* * *

I sit, confident in my work, and look around the room. No-one here really catches my attention, but one boy, who's rather cute, in his own way. However, I don't stare – that would be rude. But I like his hair, which is tied back in a cool sort of way, and I like the way he wears his mesh top.

I keep thinking back to earlier.

"_Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?"_

What did he mean by that? We came for the Chunin exams, of course, but I feel that that isn't quite what he meant.

I recognise the Uchiha boy, and that Naruto Uzu-something. And the pink-haired girl, of course. She never said her name. I recognise two Hyugas too. I never did like the Hyuga clan.

I grin over at Gaara. He's writing fast – probably copying my work. Sometimes I think he's changed so much, sometimes he's the same kid he was when he was six. With me, he's kind and compassionate, but with other people, even his own siblings… well, he's something else entirely.

I glance over at Kankuro and Temari, and my eyes search the room for the boy in their squad, and, of course, Yuki. Yuki will probably be finished too – she's even cleverer than me.

The only problem is this final question – what will it be?


	3. Chapter 3

Kokoro

* * *

I stand with Gaara, grumbling about the 'last question'. Ugh. It's like a cheesy plot-twist in life. You think it's going to be something really hard but no, it's just whether or not you stayed.

"I know. It was entirely stupid." He says, ruffling my hair. He does that quite a lot. I think he like the fact that my hair is nearly the same colour as his. Mine is a shade lighter though.

"Hey, you cut that out!" I say, sticking my tongue out at him. He chuckles, and ruffles it further. Those kids from the alley are staring at us. I guess that if I were one of them, I'd be confused too. They saw how terrified Kankuro was, but now they see Gaara mussing my hair and laughing. It's hard to be scared of Gaara when he's like this. I remember how terrified I used to be. My brother was slightly forcing me to befriend him, I guess, saying he'd only be more dangerous if he was left alone, with no-one to understand him. I see where he was coming from now, seeing how he acts around his siblings. He never threatens them properly in front of me – I heard him tell Kankuro he'd kill him one time, and I told Gaara never to threaten him again, at least not in my presence. But due to how scared they still are, I'm assuming he still threatens them when I am not around. But my brother no longer matters. I found myself liking Gaara. He's one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet.

Gaara and I stand at the back of the group. Yuki will tell us what is going on later anyway. Hopefully she feels like talking.

I look around. Also at the back is the kid with his hair tied back. He doesn't seem to care much about what is going on. I blush when I see him, and Gaara looks concerned.

"Kokoro?"

"I'm fine, Gaara." I murmur. "Should we make friends?" I ask optimistically. He seems surprised.

* * *

"_Hi there, I'm Kokoro, it's nice to meet you!"_

"_Hi Koko-"_

"_Shh, she's friends with that Gaara kid, don't talk to her!"_

"_But I just wanted to make friends!"_

"_Go away! We don't want to be friends with you!"_

_I cannot remember how long I sat there crying._

"_Kokoro?"_

"_Gaara, why do people hate you so? You aren't the demon, it is inside you, but it's not who you are."_

_He seemed so taken aback to hear that, and before the sadness, there was a flash of joy on his face._

"_They cannot see." He says, and sits beside me, his thin arms wrapped around me. "It's okay Kokoro. I will always be your friend. You do not need anyone else. They are beneath us."_

* * *

"I guess it is an option." He says. I like the deep rumble of his voice, but I liked how sweet he sounded before it broke.

We approach the boy slowly.

"Hello there." I say, smiling politely.

"Uh, hi." Is the response. He seems slightly annoyed, as if talking to people is a waste of time.

"I'm Kokoro, this is Gaara."

"Shikamaru."

"So, who's in your squad?"

He gestures to a boy and girl not too far away. The boy seems to be eating something, the girl is paying attention to the shinobi in charge of this part of the exam. The only thing I can tell about her is that she's rather good-looking.

I point over at Yuki.

"She is the third member of our team."

"Okay."

I'm a little disappointed about his reactions. I had hoped to befriend him. I sigh, and look at Gaara. He looks slightly annoyed. I wonder why.

* * *

Gaara

I must say, although he probably is like this towards everyone, his attitude towards Kokoro irritates me. She seems sad.

"Come on, Kokoro, we should listen." I murmur, glaring at the boy.

I remember when Kokoro was little and sweet, and couldn't understand why people never liked her. She's changed so much, but I still hate everyone who ever made her feel anything less than happy.

* * *

"_You're just as bad as Demon-Boy himself! No wonder nobody likes you!"_

_Kokoro just stood there, crying._

"_But you aren't so tough without him to help you, are you?" Hana teased._

"_What did you say to her?"_

_I think that was the first time since we had become friends that Kokoro had truly been scared. She knew I wouldn't hurt her, of course, but she was scared for Hana._

"_Sand Coffin."_

_I'll never forget the look on Kokoros face that day. She used to tell me about the bullying. She doesn't anymore. It hurts me that I cannot kill those who hurt Kokoro. She forgave me once. She might not forgive me twice._

* * *

I gasp as my head _aches_. I fall down to my knees.

"Gaara!"

"I'm… okay…"


End file.
